Customer Service Directors

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) does not provide an employment outlook for customer service directors (CSDs), but it does offer a prediction for the lower level occupation of customer service representative (CSR). Employment prospects for CSRs are expected to decline by 5 percent through 2033 as more of their tasks become automated. Companies are utilizing technology (including artificial intelligence) to handle simple customer service issues. Others are moving their customer service functions out of the country in order to cut costs. Although demand is declining for CSRs, companies still take customer service very seriously, which suggests that there will be a continuing need for CSDs to look at the "big picture," develop long-term customer service initiatives, and manage CSRs.

Many businesses now contract out their customer service operations to telephone call centers, which are also known as customer contact centers. These centers are expected to add the most new jobs for customer service professionals. That's not to say that call centers are the only employer hiring customer service directors and representatives. Every successful company utilizes customer service in some manner, and many have in-house service centers.